Letters to the Editor

Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, March 2, 2006

Piers not safe for crowds but OK for huge trucks Amid all the conversation over Summer Nights at the Pier concerts, city park officials continue to offer the excuse that Piers 62-63 are so in need of repairs that they are no longer safe as a concert venue. One recent morning, as I gazed out over that same pier, I saw pile upon pile of very heavy building timbers, a 2-ton crane, three heavy-duty lift trucks, five pickups and a sedan.

A more likely explanation appears to be that the city needed the piers for staging the rebuilding of the Seattle Aquarium and just didn't have the heart to tell us. Piers 62-63, like most other wood structures along our waterfront, require annual replacement of some pilings and planking. The very fact that they are still deemed safe for materials and equipment weighing easily twice as much as a sold-out concert crowd and that a small section of the piers' perimeter is still open to people brave enough to transit their length, leads one, once again, to question the veracity of city officials.

Are these the same people who would have us believe that they actually have the funding for a tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct and that it can be built on budget?

Sommers, Dickerson stick to seamless idea Thank you once again to state Reps. Helen Sommers and Mary Lou Dickerson for paying attention to constituents, rather than our glitz-crazed mayor. Seamless transportation is hardly being served by such things as short, expensive streetcar lines and expensive tunnels. Has no one remembered that the tunnel will have to rise at such a steep angle to meet the north end of state Route 99 that trucks using it will constantly be slowing traffic? It is not the viaduct that blocks downtown from the waterfront; it will be the new row of ridiculously tall buildings that developers are poised to erect that will form a wall.

For one who ran as a "neighborhood candidate," Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels certainly has gotten cozy with developers.

Get on with rebuilding/replacing the viaduct, and then such waterfront improvements as replacing the piers that held the concerts -- one of the few "waterfront attractions" that actually attracted locals.

It would be prudent for Bush to read Gandhi's words President Bush participated in a wreath-laying ceremony to honor Mahatma Gandhi during his trip to India this week. Maybe he should ponder some of Gandhi's writings.

On securing U.S. strategic interests in the Middle East: "Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man."

On nuclear weapons: "I regard the employment of the atom bomb for the wholesale destruction of men, women, and children as the most diabolical use of science ... Unless the world adopts non-violence, it will spell certain suicide."

Possible to be happy in state of denial In regard to George Will's column of Wednesday, it's obvious why conservatives are happier than liberals: It's a classic case of denial.

Liberals are depressed about two national elections that were stolen from them. They are depressed about an illegally launched war based on lies, which even some of their supposed allies continue to support.

They are depressed about the government sanctioning of torture, and the holding of prisoners without charge or representation, in blatant disregard of every law on the books, not to mention any semblance of conscience or morality.

They are depressed about an out-of-control federal deficit that will someday, somehow, have to come due.

They are depressed about further tax cuts for the rich, while social programs are axed.

They are depressed about the inevitable consequences of global warming that nearly all climate scientists now agree is caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, which conservatives continue to refer to as a myth as they merrily purchase their Land Rovers and Hummers.

Liberals may confront and ponder reality in a state of Sartresque gloom, but conservatives deny the existence of corporatism's mad pursuit of short-term profits with ill regard to the long-term consequences. But they will someday have to sleep in the bed they refuse to make.

No errand could be worth risk to a baby In regard to Tuesday's story, "Baby found safe after van is stolen," a mother went into a building leaving her van running with her baby girl inside it. The van was stolen. How many babies have to lose their lives or suffer great endangerment because parents do this? The mother should have been arrested for child endangerment. Unfortunately, there's no law against stupidity.

Four years add up to ticket to the good life There are good reasons to make kids do four years of math in high school. The equation for equity in education includes those challenging math concepts and procedures. We all agree that higher education is a primary path to middle-class life. Students with a good high school education have access to that road. Math credits open the big doors to medicine, science, engineering, programming, business management and many other well-paid careers.

Kids who get lost on the long path to math competency and don't complete four years of high school math typically don't get in those doors. The movement to increase math competency is an issue of equity and justice for huge numbers of families whose kids aren't getting a good enough education to follow their dreams.

Many universities are requiring four years of high school math as a precursor to entry. The state legislation to make four years of math a requirement is a recognition that math competency is a form of literacy and a ticket to ride.

Olympic speed skater made a generous gesture How refreshing to read about speed skater Joey Cheek's decision to donate his $25,000 award for his Olympics Gold Medal to refugee children in Chad. Those children, many orphaned, have sought refuge from the genocide taking place in Darfur, Sudan.

What an opportunity for the media to bring attention to the murder of hundreds of thousands of people, the millions homeless and the situation growing worse each day in the Darfur region. Given that all three television networks devoted a total of 84 minutes of coverage to Michael Jackson's trial, and to Darfur a total of 18 minutes in 2005 (Nicholas Kristof column, Feb. 8), what more can we expect from our media than a blip on the screen about an American medalist doing good in a world of evil. Don't we all feel good? And now back to our sponsors.

Susan MonasSeattle

PHOTOS AND DRAWINGS

Evidence of fact far different from opinion I would like to explain to Jeff Boly (Wednesday letters) why there is no inconsistency of printing the pictures of Abu Ghraib and not the cartoons offending the followers of Prophet Muhammad.

It is simple: The pictures are evidence of the facts of what has occurred and therefore appropriate to be published as news.

The cartoons are opinion and commentary intent on offending Muslims and therefore not appropriate to be published as news.

Again, someone trying to prove liberal media bias not taking the time to really think and fully analyze the information before them.